Which of the following Vedic sacrifices involved the ritual wandering of a consecrated horse for a year, claiming sovereign dominance over the territories it traversed?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The Ashvamedha was an elaborate Vedic ritual wherein a consecrated horse wandered freely for a year accompanied by royal guards, asserting the performing monarch's undisputed sovereign supremacy over neighboring realms. Other sacrifices like the Rajasuya were royal consecration rituals conferring sovereignty upon accession, but lacked the ceremonial roaming horse. This ritual was undertaken by powerful kings to display imperial might.